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How Can I make this laptop work?

marienbad — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 05:52:53 -0800

What is the quickest and cheapest way to find out if a laptop works? I was sat outside a cafe in town, it is opposite a cash converters (pawn shop/pay-day loan place). Two students went in to try and sell them the laptop but they didn't want it, so when the students came out they put it on a bench and walked off, so I went and picked it up (it annoys me to see that sort of thing). However, it has no hard drive (fair enough) and no power supply.

So do I just have to risk it and buy the bits, or pay someone?

The laptop is a Compaq Presario C300.

A PC, a TV, a DVD ... and a CEO who needs to be heard

scruss — Tue, 15 May 2012 08:27:40 -0800

I have:

a PC (a HP Compaq 6200 Pro Small Form Factor PC with VGA and dual-mode DisplayPort outputs)
a TV (a Toshiba 55G310U - 55" class 1080p 120Hz LCD TV)
a DVD of a company presentation that we need to play on this PC
a room that seats 9
… and a CEO who is coming very soon who needs the audio from the presentation to be clearly audible.

What do I need? I basically have to get something today, at a downtown store in Toronto likely no more specialized than Best Buy, that will tie this all together. Someone mentioned soundbars like this LG 2.1 Channel Speaker Bar; it's likely loud enough. What would I need to hook it up? I'm not an audio guy. I just want something that works. Assume a $400 budget and no additional technical support available.

getting rid of smudge inside lcd laptop screen?

chicofly — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 20:27:43 -0800

I accidentally got some soda fall on the LCD screen of my Compaq CQ56 laptop, and seconds later, a smudge appeared on the lower right side of the screen (everything on that area appears lighter when it is on). It looks like the liquid got inside the screen, and I don't know what to do about it. Can anyone help? For the time being, I removed the battery and have the laptop off
(fortunately, no soda touched the keyboard or any other area of the laptop). I did a lot of googling (and searches through mefi), but most of the responses suggested that the LCD monitor had to be replaced...while others suggested leaving the laptop for in a dry place for several days so that the moisture inside the screen would fully evaporate. I also read about a DIY solution where someone put their laptop next to a incandescent lamp, and after two days, the water/liquid damage disappeared, but the person never really explained how he placed the laptop near the lamp. I'm a struggling student, and I don't have the money to pay for a repair. I'm also pretty peeved because I've only had this laptop for two months. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

My So-Called Life... Trapped!

two lights above the sea — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:41:11 -0800

I have a hard drive that I ripped from a 2000-1 ish year Compaq, and I need to find an enclosure. What kind of hard drive is it, and what's the cheapest enclosure? I'm desperate to see what kind of goodies from my high school years are on this disk! Please dumb it down as much as possible. I'm not competent when it comes to computer hardware at all.

Here are some photos:

The whole thing

The label

The connecty bits

If you need pictures of the guts, let me know.

Thanks in advance!

SP3 installation worries

bryon — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 21:41:21 -0800

I've decided to install SP3 on my Windows XP Home version computer. But I've read horror stories about installing on an AMD machine. I've got a Compaq Presario 7360 with an AMD-K6 3D processor and 504 MB RAM. I want to install SP3 so I can keep getting the security updates. But one reads of terrible things happening to AMD machines (constant rebooting, won't reboot in safe mode). I found in an older thread this blog with advice for the AMD user, but it's two years old.

Two questions: Has Microsoft fixed the problems with installing SP3 in an AMD machine? Have you been through this process and what was the result?

Will an iGo WallPower 120 adapter work with a Compaq Presario R3000?

thinman — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 20:54:37 -0800

Will an iGo WallPower 120 AC adapter work with a Compaq Presario R3000? A friend's laptop power adapter became unusable, and she has a deadline tomorrow. She bought an iGo WallPower 120 at RadioShack. The salesman said it would work with her machine, but she is worried because the old adapter says it is 18.5V, 6.5 amps, and the new one says it is 15-24V, 8 amps. There doesn't seem to be much information online about this model. The manual isn't helping her, apparently. She's freaking out... the deadline can't move, and she's running out of battery juice.

Does anyone know if this thing will work with her machine? If it doesn't work, but she learns that by plugging it in, what is the worst thing that could happen?